Wednesday, March 26, 2008

In recent weeks, the Union of Part-Time Faculty at Wayne State University has reached a critical juncture in our negotiations for our first contract that began in November 2007. The WSU administration has said "no" to job-security for our members, even those with many years of service to the university. Rather than recognizing longevity as a contractual basis for future employment, the administration has proposed a vague concept: "first consideration." As a replacement for the simple and democratic principle of seniority, first consideration is both inadequate and ill-defined. The UPTF has informed the administration that it will not accept a contract without serious job security provisions. The union is also dismayed by Wayne State's attempt to maintain 15 separate wage scales for instructors doing the same work.

To support the union's proposals, contact WSU President Irvin Reid and tell him that you support the fundamental right of job security and equal pay scales for UPTF members. If writing an email to Reid please cc it to: uptf@aftmichigan.org.

For more information and/or background on the UPTF visit: www.uptf.org.

The United States’ plans for global domination are being met by worldwide resistance.

· The occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are a military disaster.

· Iran – which threw out the U.S. installed dictator (the Shah) in 1979 – refuses to bend its knee to Washington and Wall Street, so Bush and Co. are threatening a new war.

· Israel, armed and directed by the United States, rains down death and destruction upon the Palestinians. Yet the Palestinian people continue to demand their right to a homeland and the right to return to their homes in Zionist Israel. In Gaza where the Palestinian people are subjected to a brutal siege – no food, water or electricity allowed in – over 500,000 Palestinians broke through huge border wall with Egypt to get supplies. This was the greatest jailbreak in history!